Blue Print Journal [Pepperdine OMAET journal]

 Date[ November 28, 2001            ]          Type[

 Time[ 09:22 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – Resources

Notes[ It’s all about resources. Or is that “sources”? After an IM session with Tylor, I decided to see if there were any Pepperdine NGs related to children’s lit or writing. One NG (rec.arts.books.childrens) seems to be mostly populated with questions asking for book titles of books they’d read years about but couldn’t recall the title. Ack. I don’t think that that’s really what I’m looking for. Next stop: Internet resources in “Poets & Writers” magazine. JBB

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 Date[ November 28, 2001            ]          Type[

 Time[ 11:58 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – Poets & Writers Magazine


Notes[ All right, I used Google to find the web site for Poets & Writer’s Magazine and clicked on the Teacher’s resource button and, Bingo, I found a number of potential resources.

Much like the Internet, the information threatened to overwhelm my search. Besides the magazine (which I had loyally subscribed to until a couple of years ago), there was a Teachers Guide, Contents, Litarary Links, Publishing Advise, Grants and Rewards. The thing that understand least or have the least experience in is the “publishing” part of the process. Note that I wrote “weakest” because I am still not entirely sure how I want to put this project together.

A few clicks into the search led me to a page called “Children’s Book Writing.” The page had the addresses of several organizations and publications one could contact. But the most important information was just after the list of addresses:

“As with the poets and fiction writers we help, we recommend that children’s book authors vigorously investigate and research their field before beginning the submissions process. All submissions advice rests on one axiom: KNOW YOUR MARKET! We cannot stress enough the importance of researching publishers and agents, organizing your approach, and following the guidelines outlined in the various references listed above. It is also very important that you start at a level equal to your experience and abilities.”

The problem for me was knowing what “market” there might be for a medium that has not yet been defined. Early on in this project and the ARP journal for ED638 I looked into the possibility of using online BLOGs in order to create an online journal record (See BLOGGER or Greymatter) . The reason that I bring this up is that I discover a whole community of writers just putting their stuff up on the web for the whole world to see (in defference to the accepted truth about “knowing ones market”). Anyway, the Bloggers run from silly (Who would buy that?) to sublime (lisaalbrecht), to somewhat informative (LockerGnome). I particularly liked Lisa’s use of still photography to set off the tone of her prose. But this wasn’t getting me any closer to figuring out my BP project. But it was confirming in me that 1) the old media rules do not apply, and 2) I had bitten off more than I could possibly chew in the time allotted (before December 5th). Ack. JBB

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 Date[ December 4, 2001             ]          Type[

 Time[ 10:56 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – techTV


Notes[ Ok, I have to say right off the bat that some time last year I discovered techTV (at the time called ZDTV) and my life hasn’t been the same since. Well, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but in that my life is all about technology, getting the latest information can be a real lifesaver. I made a lot of my purchasing decisions for my former Magnet site totally over $250,000 based on information gathered from these sources. In elementary ed most programs never see that much change in their whole lifetime. *** I used to watch the once a week C/NET show on Saturdays and then started listening to their RealNetworks Internet stream. But all that has been replaced by the programs on techTV. Why do I bring this up? Well, in part, I’m complaining because I’ve been forced to tape the programs because of the time I need to work on the OMAET course work cuts into the TV viewing. The other reason for this rant is that the following resources were found on TechTV’s “Call For Help” and “ScreenSavers” shows (actually I found out about Bloggers on the same show too). *** Recently “Call for Help” host, Chris Pirillo interviewed thriller author J. Knight about his best selling e-book Risen and about “On Demand” book publishing. Knight commented that he was not able to get his manuscript published because the publishing houses are only willing to risk the expense of publishing on well-known authors who can guarantee a return on their investment. He said that that might be good for the publishing business in the short term but doesn’t allow for new authors to break into the business, which isn’t good for publishing in the long run. *** Enter “On Demand” Publishing. In the past this might have been called “Vanity” publishing because the author pays the cost of printing his/her book which publishers have rejected. But in the Internet age, where the need for “middle men” funding publishing and distribution costs are being done away with, it is now possible for a new author to put his/her work up on a web site, and if a reader prefers having a “hard copy” of the book, for a small fee, the e-Publisher will print and bind a single copy for the reader.  Hmmm. For Knight’s article on On Demand Publishing click here: ODP *** Besides the article by J. Knight on On Demand Publishing, Call for Help also had an article on How to Publish an E-Book by Chris MacAskill and another on Electronic Literature. JBB

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Date[ December 5, 2001             ]          Type[ personal

 Time[ 12:53 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – Reflection – Communication

Notes[ When is the best time to raise the “white flag?” When this term (trimester) began I ran headlong into a series of technical problems including a Linksys router which kept me from posting to the NGs for a good three weeks. That made for an auspicious beginning. While my cadre-mates were jumping in with both feet I couldn’t even manage a “beep.” Alas, I recognize that I have some deep seated issues about self-sufficiency, going back to lessons learned during 15-years with Pacific Bell. The thing was that you would never involve another party in your troubleshooting until you’d completely confirmed that the problem wasn’t in your jurisdiction.  That philosophy or standard operating practice served me well while at Pac Bell basically because there was no one else who was available from midnight to six A.M. to help me out.

When I became a classroom teacher I was “open” to sharing the load with another new 6th grade teacher, but also recognized the proprietary nature of how most teachers “run” their classrooms. No problem, I felt that whatever happened in the classroom was ultimately my responsibility. So it wasn’t my habit to call on the Office for help. Even when I became the full-time tech-coordinator and moved our campus from 30 disconnected Macs to over 250 networked computers with Internet access, file-sharing and over 800 users, it was pretty much a one-man job. I figured out that if I put enough time and energy into it, I could pretty much do anything.

Unfortunately, this philosophy is not working in this venue (OMAET). Actually it didn’t totally work in my last job either. Let’s just say that because I tended to deal with problems without going into hysterics there was a tendency on the part of my co-workers to not take my concerns seriously. Ok, that’s really more about the working dynamic of my former site, but does address how I am used to “participating” in a work (in this case “learning”) environment.

Irony of ironies, I guess this means, for all my devotion in the belief of communication, that I need to communicate more if I’m going to get more from my education. JBB

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 Date[ December 6, 2001             ]          Type[

 Time[ 09:25 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – Reflection – Alone


Notes[ Ack. Did I mention that I didn’t know what I was thinking when I chose my Blue Print Project? I mean, with everything else I’m trying to do, why would it make sense to me to decide to embark on a writing project where I have to come up with the content, learn a new “language” to express the project, and find a means to “publish” this work. Any one of those tasks could take the better part of Trimester (especially if one is looking for “quality” in one’s work). But no, I decide that I’m going to do all three of those things (plus keep up with my other studies . . . did I mention that I’m in the middle of creating the technology program at my school?!) in about 6-weeks time. Ha. Ray Bradbury wrote “Fahrenheit 451” in a typing room in one of UCLA’s libraries in something like 14-days. But if I were Ray Bradbury . . . well, let’s just say that I probably wouldn’t be paying Pepperdine for the pleasure of my time. xxx So, I think that I’ve established that I tend to not be a “group” learner. That if I’m having to learn a new thing (Flash animation, for example) I have to be at my computer slugging it out until something gives (sometimes requiring a couple of hours of sleep so that the solution can come to me in my sleep). If I need clarification on something then I rely on my contacts (this past Trimester I’ve depended greatly on Henry, Sissy, Greg, Michelle and Tylor). I also believe in the need of working with these comrades because they provide an extra set of eyes that can see things that I might normally miss because of my focus on the task at hand. But learning something new, it hasn’t been my experience to have had that happen in a group setting. This is especially true when the subject is skill oriented. xxx Going back to one of my previous lives as an undergraduate at Biola University, going out with friends to study at a local Denny’s was just an excuse for socializing. I rarely finished reading whatever it was that I’d brought to read and generally made sure that no one else got anything done either. It made for some good memories but lousy test scores.  Can someone learn alone? I will not argue the finer points (one might say “split hairs”) as to whether someone can “really” ever be alone, in that we’re always with our past history and environment. But if “alone” means alone with a book or a task, or time, then the answer is for me is “Yes, one can learn alone.” JBB

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 Date[ December 6, 2001             ]          Type[

 Time[ 09:26 PM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – techTV2, PDA Publishing


Notes[ As I mentioned in a previous journal entry, techTV is a veritable goldmine of good ideas and information. For example, the ScreenSavers’ Megan Marrone mentioned playing a text-based “Adventure”-style game on her Palm PDA. In the course of her discussion she said how great it’d be to create an Adventure game with the characters from the “Screen Savers” show. This led me to believe that there was an easy way to create a text-based game that would run on one’s Palm PDA. Ha. When I checked out the related article it just mentioned how to get a free text-based “Adventure”-style game for your PDA (iRogue), but nary a word about how to create and edit one. Ack. xxxOK, so that wasn’t so useful, information-wise, but in the course of looking for that damn article I did uncover some interesting information about how to create text suitable for reading on a Palm-based PDA. Hmmmm. With the help of a couple of utilities (the Palm Reader software, a Word template to convert your text to PML format, and then a “DropBook” utility to copy the text to your PDA), one could write a book ready for distribution to thousands of Palm PDA users. Well, that’s not exactly what I was shooting for (not interactive, not visual), but it does present an interesting avenue for publishing. xxxIn another article Ms. Marrone also shared that one can use a simple PDF converter to take anything for a web page to an article and copy it to ones PDA. (Adobe’s PDF format is used to transport article and books in a way that keeps the typesetting and images where the publishers wanted them irregardless of OS or available fonts). Again, this wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it does present interesting opportunities to share ones work. xxxI did test out the PDF converter program and found that it doesn’t work real well with web-pages that use tables or lots of graphics. The small PDA screen and extremely processing power (CPU) discouraged me from using this utility to keep track of the class assignments posted by the Pepperdine instructors. Click here to read more about Palm’s PDF Converter. xxxOn another completely unrelated tangent, “Palm Pilot for Dummies” author Bill Dyszel posted a database of “800” numbers for travellers listing airlines, car rental agencies and hotel chains that one can keep stored on ones PDA to be used in the event of a crisis. This database doesn’t use the PDA phonebook feature so you don’t have to worry about cluttering your PDA’s phonebook. Handy information, that’s what these little devices are about. Click here for more information on how to download the Emergency numbers on your PDA. JBB

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 Date[ December 7, 2001             ]          Type[

 Time[ 06:43 AM  ]       To[         ] From[         ]

Topic[ BP Journal – Reflection – No pre-task analysis = stressed out learning

Notes[ How do I learn? Well, I know that there are numerous things that I did wrong this time around that would have helped the learning. The first thing is that I didn’t do any pre-accessment, or pre-task analysis. What does the learner already know? Well, I did a very cursory, off-the-top-of-my-head version, but a little more care and consideration might have steered me in a more productive, beneficial learning direction. Instead, I got really enthused about the project idea, jumped in with both feet and then discovered that it would be impossible to do this in the time alloted. xxx That would be the second thing that I should have done as part of the pre-task analysis, was to consider how much time I’d have to do this and whether it could reasonably be done in the time allotted. Had I given some thought to that I would have lightened the load and either change the project or changed the objectives. xxx But because I did neither (and demonstrated my stubborn tendancy towards “trying to fix things on my own”) I stomped all over my affective filter and have stressed out over this project the entire time instead of enjoying the opportunity to learn. Ack. JBB

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